Roundtable: Women and youth in rural areas European Cooperation Fair, 27 – 28 June 2005, Brussels European Cooperation Fair: rural development through networking and transnational partnerships 27 – 28 June 2005, Brussels Women and youth in rural areas Thematic roundtable, 28 June 2005 Moderator: Stefan Kämper, Network Unit LEADER+, Germany

Roundtable: Women and youth in rural areas European Cooperation Fair, 27 – 28 June 2005, Brussels Women and Youth: Why these issues?  Regional potential: could only be activated if all people are getting the chance of taking part in the development process...  Equal opportunities: all people should have the possibility to participate in regional development not dependent on gender, age, ethnic group...  Sustainability: future development could onlybe tackled with the creativity of young and old people, man and women; changed labour market and demographic change will require new skills and flexibility...  Sustainability: future development could only be tackled with the creativity of young and old people, man and women; changed labour market and demographic change will require new skills and flexibility...

Roundtable: Women and youth in rural areas European Cooperation Fair, 27 – 28 June 2005, Brussels  Accessebility / mobility: complex structure of everyday life of women is creating different mobility patterns, information access Women: should be taken into account…  ‘New tradition’: selective migration of high qualified women reduces the number of role models - beyond traditional roles of women - for girls and young women (‘vicious circle’)  Voluntary work / honorary: differences between (typical) male and female tasks, benefits of mans jobs are usually higher  Participation: public awareness of the needs of girls and women is still underdeveloped (public space etc. dominated by men)  Social infrastructure: has to be adapted to changed reality and should be compatible with women´s and men´s life  Local labour market: the more complex social reality of women has to be recognised  Qualification: need for flexible jobs for high qualified women

Roundtable: Women and youth in rural areas European Cooperation Fair, 27 – 28 June 2005, Brussels Women: fields of work…  Further vocational training: for example in information and communication technologies  Measures in institutions and public space: for example information access and leisure facilities for women and girls  Adapted mobility-concepts: flexible buses, rural car-sharing, mobility services  Improving the conditions of voluntary work: responsibility, support by regional management, allowances  Rural-urban-partnerships...  Creating a better ‘climate’ for (young female) entrepreneurs / start-ups / networks (‘mentoring project’ for women)  Providing of social services which are adapted to changed time- structures

Roundtable: Women and youth in rural areas European Cooperation Fair, 27 – 28 June 2005, Brussels Youth: should be taken into account…  Uneven individualisation: ‘rural youth’ cannot be seen as a clearly identified group, but there are similar living conditions: remoteness, restricted job market, but also strong networks...  Reality counts: only an integrated multi-perspective approach is able to increase the interest in participating in (local) community  Participation: it is important that strategies are aiming at working with young people instead of for young people  Qualification/Jobs: future needs of local labour markets differing from the demand in presence (skills, demografic change...), new forms of education are possible  Accessebility/mobility: is a key factor for taking part in society, should be adequate so that `getting on` is not `getting out`  Action/experience: chances for experiences should be possible, ‘Vereinsmeierei’ is keeping young people away  Results/decicions: the time from designing a project to realisation should be minimized rather than in ‘adult projects’; ‘real’ decisions should be possible

Roundtable: Women and youth in rural areas European Cooperation Fair, 27 – 28 June 2005, Brussels Youth: fields of work…  Social integration: “kings of tolerance”, project for integrating through experience/action orientated projects (getting knowledge of nature/environment and social consciousness)  School projects: getting ITC skils in combination with regional knowledge  Qualification, vocational training: youth pact, orientation in the transitional period between school and job, support for young start-ups  rural-urban-partnerships might close the gap between origin and chances...

Roundtable: Women and youth in rural areas European Cooperation Fair, 27 – 28 June 2005, Brussels Woman and Youth: conclusions…  Participation should be understood in a broader sense and be seen from the gender and youth aspect in order to activate the endogenous potential of the region  The LEADER-Method has got the potential to get closer to equal opportunities of women and man, young and old in rural areas  Mobility/Accessibility is a key element for young people as well as women  Demographic change will be a great challenge for labour markets even in rural areas (lack of qualified workforce, new skills necessary...)  participative – women & man, young & old should take part  intersectoral – different actors  innovative – new ideas

Roundtable: Women and youth in rural areas European Cooperation Fair, 27 – 28 June 2005, Brussels Contact Stefan Kämper Deutsche Vernetzungsstelle LEADER+ Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung Deichmanns Aue 29 D Bonn Tel +49 (0) Fax +49 (0)